Often an individual desires a light source focused to illuminate an area while performing a task or a light source directed in a general outward direction for visibility. Holding a flashlight is an option, but such lighting devices are often cumbersome and may detract from the task being completed because the flashlight must be held. As a result, hands-free lighting is often used because the individual desiring illumination does not need to hold the light source. Common types of hand-free lighting include light sources mounted to headgear or eyeglasses.
Lighted headgear may include illumination sources mounted to hats. Often the light source is oriented outwardly in such a manner so that the wearer can be seen by others or oriented downward to provide light forwardly of the wearer so as to illuminate an area in the wearer's field of view. Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 6,659,618 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,733,150 to Hanley provide examples of such lighted hats. Often, the light source is one or more LEDs. Such LED lighted headgear, which may include LEDs mounted to a typical baseball-style cap, are convenient for hands-free lighting in a number of recreational activities, such as camping, hunting, fishing, jogging, or the like. Lighted headgear often include separate components such as one housing to hold the battery and other electrical components and a separate housing or assembly to contain the illumination source. Such separate housings may detract from the traditional style of the hat or create a profile that is different than traditional hats. In addition, lighted headgear also requires the use of batteries to illuminate the light source; however, such traditional batteries eventually need to be replaced.
Light sources on eyeglasses, on the other hand, usually include mounting arrangements of the light source, which may also be an LED, on either the cross-frame or temple of the eyeglass so as to provide illumination forwardly of the wearer. In such configuration, lighted eyeglasses are typically used to provide directed or focused light so that an area immediately forward of the wearer, e.g., 12-24 inches from their eyes, can be illuminated such as for reading typical sized print rather than used to direct light further beyond this reading distance, such as for safety purposes.
Eyeglass frames, however, are often fragile, bulky, and elongated. Such configuration results in a structure that is difficult to carry and easily broken. Such is the case with lighted eyeglasses because such frames are usually carried in a pocket until the hands-free lighting is needed. While the temples of the eyeglass frames usually pivot inwardly toward the cross-frame members and/or lenses so that the frame may be folded up in a more compact size, the folded frame is still elongated and fragile and often broken if kept in pockets of clothes that are being worn.